12.

No, for myself so dark my fate

Through every turn of life hath been;

Man and the world I so much hate,

I care not when I quit the scene.

13.

But thou, with spirit frail and light,
Wilt shine awhile and pass away,
As glow-worms sparkle through the night,
But dare not stand the test of day.

14.

Alas! whenever folly calls

Where parasites and princes meet,

(For cherish'd first in royal halls,

The welcome vices kindly greet.)

15.

E'en now thou'rt nightly seen to add

One insect to the fluttering crowd, And still thy trifling heart is glad,

To join the vain and court the proud.

16.

There dost thou glide from fair to fair,
Still simpering on with eager haste,

As flies along the gay parterre,

That taint the flowers they scarcely taste.

17.

But say, what nymph will prize the flame

Which seems, as marshy vapours move,

To flit along from dame to dame,

An ignis-fatuus gleam of love?

18.

What friend for thee, howe'er inclin❜d,

Will deign to own a kindred care? Who will debase his manly mind,

For friendship every fool may share.

19.

In time forbear; amidst the throng
No more so base a thing be seen;
No more so idly pass along:

Be something, any thing, but-mean.

To *

XX.

1.

Well! thou art happy, and I feel
That I should thus be happy too;
For still my heart regards thy weal
Warmly, as it was wont to do.

2.

Thy husband's blest-and 'twill impart Some pangs to view his happier lot: But let them pass-Oh! how my heart

Would hate him, if he lov'd thee not!

3.

'When late I saw thy favourite child,

I thought my jealous heart would break; But when th' unconscious infant smil'd,

I kiss'd it, for its mother's sake.

4.

I kiss'd it, and repress'd my sighs
Its father in its face to see;

But then it had its mother's eyes,

And they were all to love and me,

5.

Mary, adieu! I must away:

While thou art blest I'll not repine;

But near thee I can never stay;

My heart would soon again be thine.